How can i stop mildew smell...?

Question

I am new to well water and have never ran into this... When drying after taking a shower my bath towels have a BAD mildew smell that is only noticeable when they are wet. What can i change when i wash them to get rid of this nasty mildew smell?

Answer 1

Try adding baking soda to the wash. Also, be sure your towels are hung properly after showering, to allow quick drying.

Answer 2

If you have well water, you might have a sulfur smell. You might also have what is called "organic iron' smell. There is an organism that oxidizes the iron in water to organic iron. Then it smells something like an old fruit cellar on the farm.

Generally, cloronating a well doesnt work because a few of those little monsters survive and multiply in hours to millions.

You can buy an Filter Tank, and install that "in line" with the water softner. It is a tank with filter media that removes stubborn iron and sulfur smell and the like ahead of the water softener. I have a Sears Unit. inaddition to my water softner.

One last Point, May be you got a poorly maintained water softner where these organisms got into the filter bed? That is Zeolite in a water softner medium. Are you using salt in that water softner? Going from city to a well is a shock It was for me. Remember, that salt added to the softener will regerate those Zeolite so they can Replace the calcium and iron in the water with Sodium. So if you are on heart medicine, you also got a problem due to the sodium in conditioned well water.

Too much for you to take at once. I understand.

Answer 3

The smell is from the fact that front-loading washers always have a small amount of water in them after a cycle. Leaving the washer closed between loads creates humidity inside the machine, which then mildews the interior of the machine. The simplest solution is to leave the door open after using it (which my front loader instructions recommend). This probably saves wear and tear on the door seals too. To get rid of the current smell, run a cold brief cycle with bleach or hydrogen peroxide, or oxi-clean or a cup of vinegar or a half-cup of borax. My last suggestion I'm a bit cagey about. If you put a spoonful of something antifungal in the machine between loads, you wouldn't have a smell, but you don't want anything corrosive. Leaving bleach in your machine between loads would be a bad idea, as it could hurt the machine components. Same goes for hydrogen peroxide, oxi-clean and even vinegar. And, it needs to be in solution so it will mix with the water left in the machine... ...the only thing I can think of is a homemade solution of borax and water. Use 1 cup of borax to 1 qt of hot water. Mix well and store in a bottle. Put about 1/4 cup in the washer after you remove the clothes. BTW, borax is an excellent clothes brightener, water softener, and deodorizer. And it's cheap. And it makes a great bathtime water softener too. Keep it away from children, as it's poisonous.

Answer 4

I am on city water and had the same problem. I replaced my towels and started throwing them in the dryer after showers with a Bounce sheet. That was almost 3 years ago and my towels have never smelled since.

Answer 5

You need to make CERTAIN that everything you take out of your dryer - including your bath towels- is actually DRY. Something even a little DAMP is not good enough and you will get the STINKS later.
This is especially a problem in Pacific NW.

For safety, get a second opinion regarding the use of bleach & your well water.

Answer 6

I was always told not to use bleach in the well. Use chlorine. It's not harmful if ingested, like bleach and will do a better job of ridding you of the mildew smell. Also, try using vinegar in your rinse water.

Answer 7

try a fabric softener with the detergent. but the smell will develop if the towls are left in the wash machine wet for a bit of time. so try taking them out right after the cycle stops and putting them in the dryer. but yeah maybe change detergents and use a fabric softener.

Answer 8

Use bleach or a cleaner that contains bleach. I am going thru the same thing now. Ugh. Let it stand for a while. I hope they aren't colored. Good Luck!!! (works with shower curtains, tiles, etc)

Answer 9

I AM ON A WELL ALSO, GET A FILTER IT WILL HELP ALOT.
BUT BEFORE I GOT A FILTER THE ONLY THING THAT WORKED WAS GAIN LAUNDRY SOAP AND GAIN SOFTNER AND DRY THEM AS SOON AS THE WASH CYCLE STOPS

Answer 10

Tide has a variety with Febreeze added to it. I'd give that a try.